Journey Review: Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
An indie game that celebrates the wheel of life
According to the folks of the internet, lamps in video games consume real electricity. That’s a shower thought which gave me an insight into the genuineness of nowadays Digital Age. Although everything is questionable, an indie adventure game Journey left no space for questions there.
The emotional masterpiece developed by Thatgamecompany and published by Sony Computer Entertainment proves that feelings caused by a digital experience have the potential to be as pure as the first cry (or laugh if he is an Arthur Fleck) of the newborn.
Basis
It all starts with your feet touching the surface of the hot sand heated by the Sun and you, a tiny robe-clad creature, facing the light that makes you follow it. To be more specific, finding your way towards the light is an instinct that the game was built on. The best part about it is that your movement path is clear and there is no need to be flooded with some ridiculous tutorials.
Mechanics of the game are also pretty much self-explanatory: magical creatures made of the red cloth lifts you into the air thus enabling you to move across the newly discovered areas. Basic principles lead you on a wonderful journey that you can enjoy as you don’t have to focus on anything else but the experience itself.
Game feel
It’s clear as a bell that the visual fulfillment of this indie story is a top-class achievement, especially for this size of the development team, but the greatest feature for me was the soundtrack. To be more specific, every cinematic shot and angle of the in-game camera is being accompanied by some sentimental notes. Besides, even the sounds that appear after pressing the action button replicate the main melody of the game and these are just a couple of reasons why Journey music composer was nominated for a Grammy Award. Bearing in mind that video game music rarely receives any recognition, this is something to be proud of.
Cons
Be as it may, even such chef-d’oeuvre as Journey has some cons. You’re not going to avoid running into scenes which may confuse you. For example, there is a moment when the energy of the main figure runs down to the very last drop and the character is beginning to fade. The problem is that surroundings go quiet and it lasts for more than a minute thus making you think that the game just got stuck. It even forced me to make sure that the game wasn’t frozen.
By the same token, the replay value of the game is quite low. It means that the potential for continued play value after its first completion isn’t huge. The game lacks diversity of choice, thus destroying the opportunity to turn this adventure into something unique and personal for every player. The conversation between two casual folks that have just completed the game wouldn’t knock someone’s socks off as everyone would’ve had almost the same gameplay experience during the process of the completion.
The verdict: 8.3/10
To make the long story short, Journey is for anyone but not for everyone. It’s like a pack of aniseed gums; it fascinates or bothers but leaves no one indifferent.
